Shining Lights in the Gloom
The past twelve
months has been a most painful and an
extraordinarily challenging time for the
telecommunications industry. While many new
entrant players have faced a struggle for
survival, some of our most established and
traditional companies have had significant
problems of their own.
It would seem that
gathering to celebrate achievement at such a
time may seem untimely, even inappropriate,
but I believe that it is even more important
at such moments to identify and acknowledge
those who have made the most significant and
important contributions over the past year.
However, we all share the
responsibility, and the future rewards, which
come with working and fighting to rebuild the
trust in an industry that has suffered a
catastrophic loss of confidence.
It was Mark Twain who
declared: “the rumors of my death are
premature!”
And I would say to those who have
written the obituary for the
telecommunications industry, who have carved
the tombstone, and who dare to dance upon the
grave, to behold the powerful forces that our
industry has yet to unleash. While a great deal of the financial engineering that
accompanied the telecommunications revolution
may not have been healthy, the
telecommunications industry is here to stay.
On the recent history of
telecommunications Arthur C. Clarke observed,
“In the span of only three human lifetimes,
the world was transformed almost out of
recognition.
And the end is not yet in sight.”
The World Communication
Awards 2001 transcends the short-term issues
facing the industry by recognizing and
embracing the longer-term vision and the
unparalleled contributions of our industry to
our planet.
The short listed and winning companies
and individuals mentioned in this publication
are the best among an impressive list of
entrants for this year’s awards programme.
With the help of our distinguished panel of
judges, of which I am pleased to have been the
chair, they were selected after a process of
rigorous examination and discussion. I hope
that by rewarding them we may provide a beacon
of light to an industry hitherto recognized
for its unprecedented levels of growth,
innovation and expansion.
Of
particular significance this year is the
introduction of a new award for
the Most Innovative Enterprise User of a
Communications Solution, presented under
the auspices of Communications Week
International. This award gives the WCA
2001 programme an important new dimension, and
I trust that it will become an established,
perhaps even expanded, feature of WCA in the
future.
Finally, I would like to
add my congratulations to the finalists and
winners, and indeed thank all the entrants,
who together provided myself and the panel
with such a difficult but interesting
challenge when making our selection.
Michael Potter
Chair of Judges
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